Family background
Charles Joseph Lenton was born on 14 February 1858 in Camden, NSW, son of Joseph Lenton and Mary Frost. He married (1) Eliza Westacott (1861-1884) on 16 October 1878 at St Paul’s Church, Redfern, NSW and they had 2 daughters and 1 son. He married (2) Louisa Eleanor Chislett (1860-1938) on 29 April 1885 in Waterloo, NSW and there were 4 sons and 4 daughters. Charles Joseph Lenton died on 21 June 1942 in Liverpool, NSW, aged 84 years and he was cremated at Rookwood Crematorium. He lived at 25 Elizabeth Street, Waterloo (1914).
Community activity
Charles Lenton was a justice of the peace (JP). He was vice-president of the Waterloo Labor Electoral League in 1913. Lenton was prominent in patriotic causes during the First World War and was a strong supporter of the Win the War League. He was also president of the Parents and Citizens Association member of the City Mission and a member of Royal South Sydney Hospital. Lenton chaired a public meeting on 13 August 1919 at Waterloo Town Hall drawing the Government’s attention to the hardship of the working class due to the high prices of commodities. Profiteering had become a serious question, Lenton said.
Local government service
Charles Joseph Lenton was an alderman on Waterloo Council in 1908-22 representing North Ward. He was mayor in 1917-19.
References
‘Municipal Nominations’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 January 1908 p.3, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/14949754
‘Labor League Notes’, The Worker, 10 July 1913, p. 4, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145716194
‘Waterloo’s Mayor’, Evening News, 11 March 1919, p. 7, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/120840029
‘High Prices’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 August 1919, p. 9, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15860373